At the mouth of the Zambesi they found HM ships "Orestes" and "Ariel," when the former took the "Pioneer" in tow, and the latter the "Lady Nyassa," bound for Mozambique. After encountering a heavy storm, when the little vessels behaved admirably, while the "Pioneer" was sent to the Cape, the "Lady Nyassa," under charge of Dr Livingstone, proceeded by way of Zanzibar to Bombay, which they safely reached, though at times they thought their epitaph would be: "Left Zanzibar on the 30th of April, 1864, and never more heard of." CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. TRAVELS OF SIR SAMUEL AND LADY BAKER. ARRIVAL IN EGYPT--CROSS THE NUBIAN DESERT--RESIDENCE AT BERBER--RESOLVES TO LEARN ARABIC--JOURNEY TOWARDS ABYSSINIA COMMENCED--FIRST MEAL ON HIPPO-FLESH.--A WHIRLWIND--THE RIVER SUDDENLY FILLS--CAUSE OF THE OVERFLOW OF THE NILE--RAINY SEASON BEGINS--VISIT TO CAMP OF ABOU SINN-- RESIDENCE AT SON--ENGAGE GERMANS--HIPPOPOTAMUS HUNTING--HAMRAN ELEPHANT HUNTERS--MODE OF HUNTING--ABOU DO A HIPPOPOTAMUS HUNTER--EXCITING ATTACK ON A HIPPOPOTAMUS--BAKER WITNESSES ATTACK ON AN ELEPHANT BY AGGAGEERS-- RODUR'S COURAGE--THE TRAVELLERS REACH KHARTOUM. Sir Samuel, then Mr Baker, was already an experienced traveller and a practised sportsman, when in March, 1861, having resolved to devote his energies to the discovery of one of the sources of the Nile, he set forth from England to proceed up the mysterious river from its mouth, inwardly determined to accomplish the difficult task or to die in the attempt. He had, however, shortly before married a young wife. She, with a devoted love and heroism seldom surpassed, notwithstanding the dangers and difficulties she knew she must encounter, entreated to accompany her husband, in a way not to be denied. Leaving Cairo on the 15th of April, they sailed up the Nile to Korosko, whence they crossed the Nubian Desert on camels, with the simoon in full force and the heat intense to Berber. Here Mr Baker, finding his want of Arabic a great drawback, resolved to devote a year to the study of that language, and to spend the time in the comparatively known regions to the north of Abyssinia, while he explored the various confluences of the Blue Nile. They were kindly received at Berber by Halleem Effendi, the ex-governor, who gave them permission to pitch their tents in his gardens close to the Nile. It was a lovely spot, thickly planted with lofty date-groves and shady citron and lemon-trees, in which countless birds were singing and chirruping, and innumerable ring-doves cooing in the shady palms. The once sandy spot, irrigated by numerous water-wheels, had been thus transformed into a fruitful garden. Here they received visits from their host and the governor, as well as from other officers, who expressed their astonishment when they announced their intention of proceeding to the head of the Nile.